16 Times a Company Rebranded — And It Backfired Spectacularly
Companies rebrand all the time. Some do it to refresh their image, others to distance themselves from controversy, and many to stay relevant in changing markets. But not all rebranding efforts hit the mark.
In fact, some miss so badly that they become legendary corporate blunders that marketing students study for years afterward. Here is a list of 16 notorious rebranding failures that left companies scrambling to recover from their misguided makeovers.
New Coke
In 1985, Coca-Cola made what many consider the biggest marketing mistake of all time. The company changed its century-old formula to compete with sweeter Pepsi.
Consumers were outraged at the loss of their beloved classic Coke. The public backlash was so severe that Coca-Cola reintroduced the original formula as “Coca-Cola Classic” just 79 days later.
This misstep actually strengthened customer loyalty to the original product.
Tropicana’s Packaging Disaster
Tropicana’s 2009 packaging redesign was like watching someone throw $35 million directly into a trash compactor. The brand replaced its iconic orange-with-a-straw imagery with a generic-looking glass of orange juice.
Sales plummeted 20% in just two months as confused customers couldn’t find their familiar carton. PepsiCo reversed course quickly, bringing back the original design and learning a costly lesson about the power of visual brand recognition.
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Radio Shack Becomes “The Shack”
Radio Shack attempted to modernize in 2009 by rebranding as “The Shack.” The electronics retailer hoped to sound more hip and contemporary, but instead, the shortened name created confusion and lost brand equity.
The name removed the very thing that identified what they sold, making the brand feel generic and directionless. This rebrand did nothing to address Radio Shack’s fundamental problems with its outdated inventory and business model.
Netflix and Qwikster
Netflix created a customer revolt in 2011 when it announced it would split its streaming and DVD-by-mail services, renaming the latter “Qwikster.” The plan would have forced customers to manage two separate accounts and pay more overall.
After losing 800,000 subscribers and watching its stock price plummet 77%, Netflix abandoned the Qwikster idea just 23 days after announcing it. The company eventually recovered but created a textbook example of how not to treat loyal customers.
Gap’s Logo Fiasco
Gap’s 2010 logo redesign lasted exactly one week. The clothing retailer unexpectedly replaced its classic blue box logo with a new design featuring a small blue gradient square behind the “p.” Customers mocked the generic-looking design across social media platforms, comparing it to something made in basic design software.
After the overwhelmingly negative reception, Gap quickly returned to its iconic blue box logo.
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Mastercard’s “Priceless” Pricey Mistake
In 2006, Mastercard changed its name from “Master Card” (two words) to “Mastercard” (one word) and unveiled a new logo. While the name change was fine, the expensive rebranding campaign that accompanied it was widely criticized for being unnecessary and wasteful.
The modification was so subtle that most consumers didn’t even notice the change, making the multi-million dollar campaign seem like an indulgence rather than a strategic move.
BP’s “Beyond Petroleum” Backfire
In 2000, British Petroleum rebranded as “BP” with a green-and-yellow sunflower logo and the slogan “Beyond Petroleum” to project an environmentally friendly image. This rebrand became the poster child for “greenwashing” after the catastrophic 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill exposed the gap between BP’s carefully crafted image and its operational reality.
The disconnect between their eco-friendly branding and environmental disaster created lasting reputation damage.
Weight Watchers to WW
Weight Watchers rebranded as “WW” in 2018 with the tagline “Wellness that Works” to distance itself from direct associations with dieting. The abbreviated name confused longtime customers and failed to attract new ones.
The company struggled to explain what “WW” actually stood for, creating an identity crisis. Sales and membership declined following the rebrand, and the company eventually began reemphasizing the Weight Watchers name in its marketing.
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Comcast Becomes Xfinity
When Comcast rebranded its services as “Xfinity” in 2010, consumers viewed it as an attempt to escape the company’s reputation for poor customer service. The name change did nothing to address the underlying service issues that made Comcast one of America’s most disliked companies.
Many saw the rebrand as putting lipstick on a pig, and “Xfinity” became a punchline in jokes about companies trying to run from their bad reputations.
SciFi Channel to Syfy
The SciFi Channel’s 2009 rebrand to “Syfy” baffled fans and industry observers alike. The network claimed the new spelling was more “ownable” legally, but many loyal viewers felt the change was dumbing down the brand.
Adding to the embarrassment, the network apparently didn’t research how “syfy” translates in other languages – in some countries, the pronunciation sounds similar to slang for a venereal disease. The core audience felt alienated by what seemed to be the network’s attempt to distance itself from science fiction fans.
Tribune Publishing Becomes tronc
In 2016, Tribune Publishing renamed itself “tronc” (all lowercase) – standing for “Tribune online content.” The rebrand was widely ridiculed for its awkward name and bizarre corporate language about “content optimization” and “leveraging artificial intelligence.”
The company eventually admitted defeat and changed back to Tribune Publishing in 2018, making “tronc” one of the shortest-lived and most mocked corporate rebrands in recent memory.
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JCPenney’s Failed Transformation
In 2012, under new CEO Ron Johnson, JCPenney underwent a massive rebranding. The company eliminated sales and coupons in favor of “everyday low prices” and redesigned stores with boutique sections. The overhaul alienated core customers who shopped specifically for deals and sales events.
JCPenney’s sales dropped a staggering 25% in a single year, resulting in $985 million in losses. Johnson was fired after just 17 months, and the company scrambled to win back its original customer base.
Uber’s 2016 Logo Change
Uber’s 2016 rebrand replaced its recognizable “U” logo with an abstract geometric design that many users couldn’t even identify. The company claimed the new logo represented “bits and atoms,” but customers just found it confusing and had trouble locating the app on their phones.
Uber reverted to a more recognizable wordmark logo two years later, acknowledging that recognition and clarity trump abstract design concepts for everyday apps.
Mozilla’s Moz://a Confusion
Mozilla’s 2017 rebrand introduced a logo spelling out “moz://a” – incorporating the URL protocol syntax into its name. While clever to tech-savvy users, the rebrand confused average consumers who didn’t understand the reference or know how to pronounce it.
The attempt to look cutting-edge actually created unnecessary complications for a brand that needed broad accessibility. The company still uses the logo but has downplayed it in many contexts.
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Pizza Hut’s “The Hut” Attempt
Pizza Hut briefly tried rebranding as “The Hut” in 2009, following the same misguided trend as Radio Shack’s “The Shack.” The partial name change created confusion rather than coolness, with customers wondering if something had happened to the “Pizza” part of the business.
The company quickly abandoned the abbreviated name after realizing that removing the product from your name doesn’t make you more relevant – it just makes you less recognizable.
Airbnb’s Symbol Controversy
Airbnb unveiled a new logo in 2014 called the “Bélo,” which is described as a symbol of “belonging.” The internet immediately noticed that the logo resembled human anatomical parts, creating endless mockery on social media.
While Airbnb didn’t abandon the logo, the launch was overshadowed by jokes and memes rather than the meaningful brand message they hoped to convey. The company powered through the initial ridicule, but the logo remains a case study in unintentional design implications.
When Brands Stumble Forward
These rebranding disasters show that even major companies with huge marketing budgets can misjudge what their customers value about their brands. Most of these failures stemmed from abandoning brand equity, misunderstanding customer expectations, or attempting to use cosmetic changes to fix deeper business problems.
The smartest companies learned from these mistakes and returned to what made their brands special in the first place. For others, these rebranding missteps became the first dominos in a chain of decline that proved impossible to reverse.
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